Easing the Kidney Shortage

As of noon yesterday, 58,470 people in the U.S. were waiting for a kidney transplant. Most won't get one this year. There aren't enough donated kidneys to go around. Surgeons transplanted just 15,129 kidneys last year.

Now a band of transplant surgeons and economists are trying to fix that by creating a moneyless market for exchanging kidneys.

Most transplanted kidneys come from a person who has died, a supply that grows slowly...